Sorting records
FileMaker Pro stores
records in the order they were added to the file.
Sorting rearranges records, so you can view, update, or print them in a different sequence.
You choose the
fields whose contents you want to sort by. The first sort field arranges the records based on the field’s contents. The second sort field arranges records when two or more records have the same value in the first sort field, and so on. You can sort records in
ascending order,
descending order, or in a custom order.
By default, the records remain sorted until you perform a find or sort records by different criteria. When you add a new record in a sorted found set, or change the data in a sort field of a sorted record, the record appears in the correct position in the sort order when you
commit the record.
To sort the records in the current found set:
2. In the Sort Records dialog box, choose fields for sorting, in the order you want them sorted.
For details about the sort options in the Sort Records dialog box, see
Options for sorting records.
3. Click Sort.
To cancel a sort operation before it is finished:
Press Esc (Windows) or Command-period (macOS).
Notes
•Data sorts differently in different field types:
This field type | Sorts data in this order |
Text | Alphabetically. Numbers sort by character position. (Example of an ascending sort: 1, 11, 2.) Numbers sort before letters. Non-alphanumeric values before the first word are ignored (unless you change the sort language to Unicode). The longest text string that FileMaker Pro will sort is 100 characters. |
Number | Numerically. Non-numeric characters are ignored. |
Date | Chronologically. |
Time | Numerically. Times using AM/PM are sorted according to their 24-hour-clock equivalent (for example, 8:00 PM is 20:00). |
Timestamp | Chronologically. Times using AM/PM are sorted according to their 24-hour-clock equivalent (for example, 8:00 PM is 20:00). |
•Automatic record sorting:
•occurs when changes to records are
committed •does not occur while scripts are running or paused
•If you import records from another file into a sorted file, the records are not automatically sorted. Instead, the status toolbar shows Semi-sorted. Sort again to incorporate new records in the sort order.
•When you define a text field, the default language for
indexing and sorting text is determined by the operating system on which FileMaker Pro is running. If you want to override the default language for a sort, select
Override field's language for sort in the Sort Records dialog box. To permanently change the field’s default language, see
Defining field indexing options.
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